The invention relates to a turbocharger, in particular an exhaust-gas turbocharger for an internal combustion engine, including a turbine and a compressor interconnected by a shaft rotatably supported by friction bearings.
Exhaust-gas turbochargers have been used for a long time in internal combustion engines for increasing the power and torque of the engine. Such exhaust-gas turbochargers comprise an exhaust-gas turbine which is arranged in the exhaust tract of the internal combustion engine and is acted upon by the exhaust gases, and also a compressor arranged in the intake tract of the internal combustion engine for compressing the sucked-in combustion air to an increased boost pressure. The compressor is connected via a shaft to the exhaust-gas turbine and is driven by the latter. On account of the high rotational speed of the charger, which may reach 200,000 revolutions per minute, it is necessary to have an accurate mounting of the rotating parts of the turbocharger, which, as described for example in the publication DE 35 22 595 C2, may be supported by friction bearings which are disposed in the housing of the exhaust-gas turbocharger and to which lubricating oil is supplied via an oil-pressure supply device.
The determination of the rotational speed of the turbocharger plays an important part in controlling and regulating the operating behavior of the internal combustion engine in the power mode and also in the enginebraking mode. The rotational speed of the turbocharger is required, for example, for regulating actions by the engine management system. Another application is the setting of the position of a variable turbine geometry, via which the effective turbine inlet flow cross section can be controlled variably, while the internal combustion engine is running, in order to broaden the power range of the charger and the internal combustion engine both in the engine power mode and in the engine-braking mode.
The publication DE 690 01 636 T2 describes the use of a rotational-speed sensor, via which the rotational speed of the shaft is detected and fed to a control device which generates from the measurement signal representing the rotational speed an actuating signal for opening a solenoid valve, via which oil pressure can be fed to a functional bearing of the shaft, in order to subject the shaft to a correction of equilibrium, particularly at very high rotational speeds.
Rotational-speed sensors of this type for detecting the rotational speed of the turbocharger are designed, for example, as inductive sensors which, however, require a water-cooled turbocharger.
It is the object of the invention to determine the rotational speed of the turbocharger with high reliability, using simple structural measures.
An exhaust gas turbocharger for an internal combustion engine includes a turbine wheel and a compressor impeller disposed on a common shaft which is rotatably supported by friction bearings to which lubricating oil is supplied by oil supply means, a turbine speed detection device is provided comprising a pressure modulating structure disposed on the shaft for modulating the oil pressure in the oil supply means in accordance with the speed of the shaft and an oil pressure sensor is arranged in the oil supply structure for sensing the oil pressure modulations for determining the speed of the turbocharger.
The pressure modulation device correlates with the rotational speed of the shaft, so that the oil pressure modulationxe2x80x94the pressure fluctuations in the oilxe2x80x94can be used as a measure for the rotational speed. The modulation of the oil pressure in the oil supply device can be measured by an oil-pressure sensor which may be a commercially available pressure sensor. It is simple in design and is engaged in use. This provides for a significant simplification in the detection of the rotational speed of the turbocharger, particularly for the situation where the oil supply device includes a pressure sensor which is used for regulating the oil pressure in the friction bearings of the shaft, in this case, the oil-pressure sensor, in addition to measuring the absolute pressure, may assume a further function, that is, the measurements of pressure fluctuations which are imparted to the oil via the pressure modulation device and which are superposed as relatively minor pressure fluctuations on the relatively high absolute pressure of the act. The pressure fluctuations may be evaluated by conventional valuation methods in an evaluation unit and the rotational speed of the charger can be determined from the pressure fluctuations.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the pressure modulation device is designed as a modulation unit which is connected to the shaft and rotates fixedly relative to the latter. It may be designed as a structural part out of rotational symmetry and acting upon the oil, so that, during each revolution of the shaft, pressure pulsations occur in the oil in rhythm with the rotational speed of the charger. These pulsations can be measured via the oil-pressure sensor. The pressure pulsations take place due to the deviation of the modulation unit from the rotational symmetry, in that, during each revolution of the charger shaft, specific portions of the modulation unit having a larger radius alternate with other portions having a smaller radius and are connected operatively to the oil supply device. The operative connection is advantageously made solely in a mechanical way, in that the modulation unit acts directly upon an oil reservoir of the oil supply device. For example, oil from the oil reservoir may come into contact directly with the modulation unit. During rotation of the shaft, the necessary pressure pulsations are generated by the alternating portions of the modulation unit having a different radius and can be detected by a pressure sensor.
In an embodiment which can be implemented in a particularly simple way, the modulation unit is designed as a milled duct which is introduced into the shaft casing and extends preferably in the circumferential direction, but only over part of the circumference of the shaft, so that, during each shaft revolution, that radially set-back portion of the shaft casing into which the milled duct is introduced alternates with that portion in the shaft casing without the milled duct. The milled duct is in this case arranged preferably symmetrically in the middle of the shaft between the charger and the compressor.